1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for controlling an operation of a side step for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a method for controlling an operation of a side step for a vehicle, which is capable of releasing the side step based on whether an obstacle is present in a direction in which the side step is released.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recreational vehicle (RV) having a chassis that is raised further from the ground than that of a general passenger vehicle may include a side step to allow a passenger to conveniently enter or exit a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the side step 1 may be configured to be fixed to a vehicle body (side sill outer panel) 2. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2, a side step 3 may be automatically released from or retracted into a vehicle body 4, using a mechanical mechanism
Furthermore, when the side step 3 is configured to be automatically released, the conventional side step 3 is operated to be released without considering whether an obstacle is present in the vicinity of the side step. A control is performed to release the side step 3 or retract the side step 3 only when the side step 3 directly collides with an obstacle.
Thus, in the conventional method for controlling the operation of the side step 3 a collision between the side step 3 and an obstacle may not be prevented in the release operation of the side step 3, thus causing damage to a drive device and the side step.
The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present invention, and is not intended to mean that the present invention falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.